When you think of a melodic hardcore album, you think lots of layered melodic guitars, vocals with lots of reverb, and a big drop into the ‘hardcore’. ‘Vibrant’, the new full-length offering from Swiss outfit Dreamshade is full of all of the above.

Melodic metallers Dreamshade make no apologies for being bold on second full-length, ‘The Gift Of Life’. Thanks to a sterling production job, the band certainly sound the part, even if their songs do lack the craft of the genre’s kingpins, In Flames and Killswitch Engage. The influence of both bands on the Swiss five-piece is easy to hear across these ten tracks, but by trying to cram in one too many ideas, it ends up feeling bloated, lacking the spark that it needs.